waybills and such

[Mopac3092]

is anyone using waybills out there for your switching also dispatcher reports. if so did you do them yourself or were they on a program somewhere. i used waybills for switching and train/car handling the other night for the first time and i found out that it is not the pain i thought it would be. our club will begin operations at shows sometime in the next few months and they are in for a shocker when they find out that they couldn't switch a boxcar of roses around a gondola full of s@@t. they think that it only consists of grabbing a handfull of cars and running around the layout dropping them of in different positions and picking them back up the next time, so i am going to rock the boat a little and propose waybills and other items, also these are going to be used on my home layout. thanks mitch.

[ncng]

There are several software programs out there that will generate waybills/switchlists. One I am working with right now is called Interchange. It is available for free download at http://www.mcswiz.com/MCSMRCDS/MainPage.asp.

Be aware that this program is still in development and it does have some problems, but once all the problems are all found and fixed it promises to be a great program. A lot of the program was specifically designed for use by large clubs. The program is currently being tested by the Toronto O Scale club for which there is an article in the recent MRR.

[friscobob]

Several years ago, Model Railroader ran a series on building a 4x6-foot HO layout, including switching with switch lists. The form they used was available to readers to photocopy & use for their own layouts (and MR did say it was OK).

I did this for my late HO scale Oklahoma & North Eastern, and found it to be useful. Going with a 6:1 fast clock, I found I could simulate a good day's switching on a 9x11-foot layout without much trouble.

As I get time, I'm gonna try the same switchlist on my N scale Paris & Mt. Pleasant. The yards are represented by staging tracks, so I'll have to prestage trains before I start operating. With about 5 or 6 shippers, it should be a decent day's work.

I prefer the switchlist because of the reduced paperwork, and also because I have to deal with graemlins/cursing.gif paperwork at my job- the less I have to deal with, the better. If you like using waybills and car cards, more power to you- I've used them at friends' layouts, and they work fine. But on my layout, it's the K.I.S.S. principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid).

Highball, y'all!

[ 02 July 2002, 03:21: Message edited by: friscobob ]